Sally Anne-Newson has been head hunted for the position following an attractive 13 year track record in e-commerce, including seven years at eBay Australia and later Big W. Anne-Newson was initially brought on to develop a multi-channel retail strategy for the Woolworths Group in April 2008, before moving on to establish the online arm for its subsidiary Big W the following year. Key achievements at eBay included the development and implementation of a number of projects including Live Chat and recommendation programs, all of which were geared at customer service.
Anne-Newson said a small Sydney office will be established for asos.com.
“I will be based in Sydney and will represent Asos in developing deep market intelligence, building partnerships to drive the success of the brand in the Australian market. I will also be responsible for the areas of the proposition that will bedifferent for the Australian market.”
Anne-Newson said there would also be the potential to extend into New Zealand as a dedicated market. Australia is currently the second biggest market for asos.com outside of its UK base, with free shipping, a dedicated local website, a local returns centre and local PR representation all launched this year to drive growth.
In November, asos.com reported an eight per cent increase in UK sales for the six months ending September 30, 2011. In contrast, the etailer clocked a staggering 150 per cent increase in international revenue, with global sales accounting for 58 per cent of total earnings. This compared to a 37 per cent share in 2010. Profit after tax and exceptional items (relating to a warehouse move) rose 66 per cent to £11.7 million (AU$18.6m).
ASOS: Capitalising on e-tail spending in Australia.
